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breezed into Jerry's office. She was perfect.
Carl couldn't describe it; he had a feeling deep in his gut that
this girl was the answer to his prayers. Of course, that didn't mean
he thought the next six months were going to be a prance in the park.
Carl had gone to Lenny's room to make sure she was keeping up her
end of the bargain. He was wonderfully relieved to find out that she
was alone. Extra point in her column.
    The door opened to
his floor and he strode more leisurely to his room. As he got into
bed and closed his eyes, he acknowledged the ridiculous feeling of
excitement he was getting. He hadn’t felt this much
anticipation for a tour since Double Blind Study was still a garage
band. It felt good. And right.
    Last night’s
show had gone perfect. Playing poker until early morning with his
oldest friends had been a welcome change from the infamously crazy
after-parties of the last tour. And no had one mentioned Lenny’s
looks, or even her gender for that matter. Maybe they didn’t
notice. This might work after all.

    ***

    Lenny was the first
one awake. She tucked her small travel duffel into the compartment
on the crew bus and hurried across the street to the tiny coffee
shop. The wonderful aroma filled her nose and woke her up just a
little bit more. She ordered enough coffees for the bus drivers,
herself and Carl. Shifting the large order into a more manageable
hold, she headed back to the waiting buses.
    She passed out the
coffees to the thankful drivers and sidled up to Carl. He glanced
over at her, a bit surprised as she handed him his coffee.
    “ Thanks,”
he muttered.
    They stood side by
side without looking at each other for a few moments. Then Carl
spoke again, “Sorry about barging in last night.”
    “ Not
a problem,” she answered quietly. “But try to keep in
mind, I’m on your side.” She looked at him with a wry
smile.
    He chuckled softly
and took a sip of his coffee, “It’s new, I’ll have
to get used to it.”
    The Chicago morning
was beautiful. Lenny admired the tall skyscrapers against the
periwinkle sky. She had missed traveling and the excitement of
waking up in a new place with the city just waiting to be explored.
Her heart beat faster in anticipation of the upcoming touring
schedule. She had no idea how much free time for her would even be
possible. It didn't matter. She'd find a way to make the most of
it.
    “ I
was gonna have you ride with the crew for a couple of days but I
changed my mind.” Carl gave her a sideways glance, “I
want you on the Red Bus with Sway, Harrison and Blake.”
    “ Any
particular reason why?” Lenny saw this as a good sign. It
meant Carl wasn't afraid of her being alone with the band members
during the long hours on the road. When he had laid out the rules
yesterday, one of them was: “No girls on the buses during
travel.” Family and committed girlfriends could be the
exception, but none of the guys were in a relationship. Lenny had
been concerned about the logistics of keeping an eye on them if she
wasn't going to be around them without supervision anyway. Carl's
directive just changed that.
    “ You're
my eyes and ears,” Carl shrugged. “We'll try to switch
it up periodically, keep them on their toes.”
    “ You
got it, boss,” Lenny nodded towards the hotel where the
musicians were making a slow and bleary-eyed exit, “Time to get
to work.” She slammed back the rest of her scalding hot
coffee, ignoring Carl's startled look. Tossing her empty cup into a
nearby trashcan, she headed for the approaching band members.
    Lenny grabbed the
suitcases from out of their hands and pushed them onto their
respective buses.
    “ C’mon,
ladies! We have a long way to go!” She directed with authority
while she loaded their few bags.
    “ Damn,
new girl! Calm down!” Blake protested sleepily. Lenny only
laughed and shoved him up the steps of his bus.
    “ Your
adoring public awaits.” Lenny dramatically ushered Mike and
Luke onto their bus.